The Story

At the outset, a teen is accused of murder, and he and his family are awakened in the ungodly night hours from sleep to be arrested and taken to the police station. The series moves ahead with the post-arrest procedures in a clinical fashion, yet showing the confusion, bewilderment, fear, and above all, the hopelessness. No one involved had any idea about how to respond, and that is fantastically conveyed through the acting, direction, and camerawork. Then follows the due process of investigative work that peels the layers off the accused and the crime, one at a time.

The Cinematic Experience

All episodes are shot in a single take. Each 50-minute episode is filmed using a subject camera. All panning and zooming happen in the moment. The handheld camera makes you experience the situations firsthand—as if you are there. It feels so realistic and deeply uncomfortable. The amount of preparation the director, cinematographer, actors, and crew must have done to achieve this is unimaginable.

The Nuances

The series is full of finer nuances, though one has to be fairly attentive to notice them. I can’t write more about them at the risk of spoilers.

Teenage Struggles & Society

The adolescence stage of life is becoming more and more turbulent due to the omnipresent mobile and social media. The pressures that teens go through can never be fully imagined by their parents, caregivers, and teachers. Most people just pass judgment from their armchairs, keen to apply labels to situations and people.

Parenting is becoming more about questioning yourself at every step than doing things intuitively. Families whose kids pass through this stage without much trouble are blessed, while those with troubled teens have to suffer along with them, with no magic wand to make their problems disappear. Most teens eventually grow out of it as they move into adulthood. Yet, a few lag behind, caught in a cycle of instant gratification, rebelliousness, and uncontrolled rage. These are the kids society must watch out for—not only do they add to the burden of unproductive citizens, but their lives, which could have been beautiful, turn into burning embers that smolder into soot. In the process, they destroy themselves while spreading grief and guilt to those around them.

Performances

I can’t say enough about the acting of the main protagonist (the kid), who is present in almost every frame of the series. His acting is top-notch and stands among the greats. The father is a revelation, too—his internal chaos is evident despite his attempts to maintain a composed face. His struggle to keep the family together and sane while trying to live a normal life under such circumstances is deeply moving.

Final Verdict

A must-watch for the content, direction, camerawork, acting, and above all, the experience of being there, in the midst of it all.